AN INVESTIGATION OF THE PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION AND PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS GRADUATING FROM TEACHER TRAINING.

STANDLEE, LLOYD S.; AND OTHERS

AN INVESTIGATION WAS MADE OF THE PREPARATION AND PERFORMANCE OF 880 PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THE STATE OF INDIANA. THIS IS THE TOTAL NUMBER OF TEACHERS WHO RECEIVED THE BACHELOR'S DEGREE FROM ANY OF THE 24 INDIANA COLLEGES OR UNIVERSITIES WITH STANDARD ACCREDITATION FOR TEACHER EDUCATION IN THE CALENDAR YEAR 1954 AND WHO WERE TEACHING IN INDIANA PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE SCHOOL YEAR 1956-57. THE PURPOSE OF THE INVESTIGATION WAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE GRADUATES OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF TEACHER-TRAINING INSTITUTIONS HAVE A DIFFERENT PREPARATION FOR TEACHING AND ARE DIFFERENT IN TERMS OF PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE. THREE KINDS OF DATA WERE CONSIDERED IN THE INVESTIGATION--(1) BACKGROUND DATA USED TO DESCRIBE THE SAMPLE, (2) DATA REGARDING TEACHERS' ACADEMIC PREPARATION, AND (3) DATA REGARDING TEACHERS' PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT GRADUATES OF DIFFERENT SIZES AND TYPES OF TEACHER-TRAINING INSTITUTIONS DIFFERED IN THEIR PREPARATION FOR TEACHING, AND THEY DIFFERED IN PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE, AS REFLECTED BY SCORES ON THE MINNESOTA TEACHER ATTITUDE INVENTORY AND BY THEIR PRINCIPALS' RATINGS OF OVERALL TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS. THEY ALSO DIFFERED ON CERTAIN BACKGROUND DIMENSIONS PRIOR TO ENTERING THE INSTITUTIONS FROM WHICH THEY WERE GRADUATED. THE PREPARATION AND BACKGROUND DIFFERENCES WERE NOT, HOWEVER, SUFFICIENTLY SYSTEMATIC, NOR WERE THE TWO PERFORMANCE VARIABLES SUFFICIENTLY INCLUSIVE TO WARRANT ANY CONCLUSION REGARDING WHICH SIZE OR TYPE OF TEACHER-TRAINING INSTITUTION IS PRODUCING BETTER TEACHERS. (GC)